In 2000, the Broncos entered a purple patch just after the Origin series that made them irresistible. From that point on, it seemed like the Broncos premiership to lose. Outside of a couple of anxious moments (Webcke breaking his arm in Round 24, the first half of the qualifying final) it seemed in the bag.
In 2006, I agree with Frank that the turning point was the Round 23 clash against Melbourne, but I didn't buy into the Broncos as a premiership team until that try to Berrigan in the prelim final. There was just something so special about that play that I really began to dream.
Rapid fire...
2001 - It seemed like Parra's year right up until the grand final. In hindsight, the qualifying final against Sydney was the defining moment.
2002 - Similarly, it was the Bulldogs year until the salary cap scandal erupted. At that very moment, the Roosters were the form team of the competition, so it defaulted to them.
2003 - I jumped on the Penrith bandwagon in Round 3 of that season and they never gave me a reason to get off.
2004 - I thought Fittler would go out with a premiership, but the Bulldogs really came to my attention when they smacked Brisbane infront of a massive crowd.
2005 - I truly thought it was the Broncos year until the Dragons beat them at Suncorp then I had no idea who it was going to be. The Tigers 50-6 win in the QF made them the form side of the finals and once they got past St George it was all down-hill skiing from there.
2007 - Early on in the piece when Melbourne, Manly and North Queensland were the top three undefeated sides. I had concerns over GI @ Five Eighth, but they were alleviated very quickly.
2008 - Not until the GF. I believed in superstitions and thought that since Orford won the Dally M, the Sea Eagles wouldn't win the premiership. In hindsight, it was really stupid and it was fairly obvious that Manly were going to fair much better in the qualifying finals. Once Smith was rubbed out, it was theirs to lose.
2009 - Definitely the most open premiership since 2005. It seemed like Parra and Brisbane had hit form at just the right time, but then reality sunk in and Melbourne reminded everyone that they had a roster that was too good to be true.
2010 - Even before the Storm were eliminated, I thought it would be the Dragons year and once Melbourne were reduced to a non-factor it was cemented. I can't remember my justification beyond being more familiar with Bennett's set-up and the roster being better situated.
2011 - When the Warriors dispatched Melbourne. I thought it was going to be their year, but like in 2008, New Zealand did their part in Manly's rise to premiership glory. Before that, I really liked DCE's performance against the Broncos in the final round of the regular season and thought Manly would be thereabouts.
2012 - Always seemed like Melbourne had it in the bag. Canterbury had a fantastic regular season, but it usually takes one blown chance before you can win one and that's what happened here with Melbourne.
2013 - Round 26 changed everything for me. I had it down as South Sydney's year but after that night, especially that second half, it felt like the Roosters had eaten their lunch and were going to take out the premiership. Manly's win over Souths confirmed it and while the GF itself was touch and go (making it one of the more underrated GF in history) it always seemed like Sydney's year. Wolfman's horrific performance cemented it.
2014 - Like with Melbourne in 2012, it usually takes one blown year before you can take it out so despite a couple of red herrings (Burgess leaving etc.) they went into the year as favourites. And like other years before, it seemed like it was decided in the first week of the finals when Souths blew Manly off the park, while Sydney had their pants pulled down by Penrith.
2015 - I said as soon as Josh McGuire went down, that it ended the teams hopes of winning the GF and felt like those were fairly ominous words. I really wanted to be wrong and as soon as Milford made his break in the dying stages, I thought I was. But even then, taking the Broncos bias out of it, I thought after the qualifying final we'd meet the Cowboys again and they had more room for improvement. They responded with two big wins and it just seemed like it was their time.
